Automatic steam and drain trap



(No Model.)

P. LAMPLOUGH. AUTOMATIC STEAM AND DRAIN. TRAP.

No. 515,293. Patented Feb. 20, 1894.

bwa.

lINrrnD STATES Arniv'r' einen.

FREDERICK LAMPLOUGI-I, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THOMAS I. BORDEN, OF ENGLEWOOD, NEV JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC STEAM AND DRAIN TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,293, dated February 20, 1894.

Application filed May 24,1893- Serial No. 475,3942- (No model.)

T all whom/ it may concern..-l

Beit known thatLFREDERIcKLAMPLOUGH,

a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, re-

siding at Windsor Hotel, New York city, in the county of New York, State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Steam and Drain Traps; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the inthe escape of liquids, such as water of condensation, and prevent the escape of a vapor, such as steam.

My improved trap depends in operation 2o upon the principle of the expansion of air as it is heated and its contraction as it is cooled'.

I do not claim broadly the application of this principle to traps, but I have devised an apparatus of improved construction in which 2 5 the air upon the expansion and contraction of which the operation of the trap depends is so confined and utilized that the action of the trap is very prompt and certain; which is very compact in arrangement and adapted to be used in many places where a bulky device cannot be employed; in which the valve closure is very accurate; the parts of which can conveniently be constructed and put together, and can be readily taken apart for cleaning 3 5 or repairs; and in which the valve is in perfect equilibrium so that its operation is not in any way retarded or otherwise interfered with by the pressure of the steam or other vapor which is to be controlled. l

With such objects in view my invention consists in the novel parts and combinations thereof hereinafter set forth.

In order to make myinvention more clearly understood I have shown in the accompany- 4 5 ing drawings means for'carrying the same into practical effect, without however intending to limit my improvement in its useful applications, to the particular construction which, for the sake of illustration, I have delineated. 5o In said drawings: I have shown a sectional View of a steam trap embodying my invention.

Referring to said drawings 1 indicates a chamber preferably 0f cast metal and of dome shape as indicated, and which is provided 55 with an vinlet 2, adapted to be connected with the steam cylinder, radiator, conduit or other vapor-containing chamber, and which for couvenience of attachment may have at its other end a peripheral iiange 3.

4 is a somewhat similar casting having a flange 5 adapted to be clamped to the iiauge 3 by boltsv 6 so as to form a steam tight joint, and having a tapering neck 7. In the latter are formedA a chamber 8, an internal screw- 65 thread 9, an internal iiange 10, and astufing chamber 1l. In the latter is iitted a gland 12 adapted in connection with the iiange 10 to hold and compress a packing material, and said gland is controlled and forced into place 7o by a cap 13 engaging a screw-thread on the neck '7.

14 isa tube the upper end of Which forms at 15 a valve seat, the intermediate portion of which passes through and can be turned 75 and adjusted vertically in the stu'ling box 16 formed by the parts 7, l0, 12 and 13, and the lower end of which may communicate with the open air or with adrain or with any vesselin which the liquid escaping through 8o the trap is collected.

17 is a nut secured upon the tube 14 to assist in turning the latter. The vupper end of said tube is provided with an external screw-thread 18 adapted to engage the thread 85 9, so that upon turning the tube 14 it may be adjusted slightly inward or outward in the. trap-case formed by the parts 1 and 4. This adjustment will regulate the amount of opening of the valve hereinafter described, and 9o the position of the tube 14 will depend upon the temperature at which it is desired that the trap should open.

19 is the trap-valve situated in proximity to the seat 15 where it is supported by a col- 95 lar 20 secured by a pin 2l upon a spindle 22. The latter is provided with a head 23 at its upper end and below said head with a screwthread 24, and is carried by a diaphragm 25 of elastic material such as sheet metal. The ron spindle passes down through said diaphragm and is clamped thereto by a nut 26 which engages the screw-thread 24 and bears against the outer surface of the diaphragm. This joint where the spindle passes through the diaphragm is hermetically sealed by solder or in any other suitable manner.

27 indicates a dome of suitable material such as brass or copper which corresponds approximately with the interior contour of the case 1, and which is hermetically joined around its lower edge, as by soldering, with the edge of the diaphragm 25. The air-tight chamber thus formed is soldered or otherwise secured in a bearing plate 28 provided with a peripheral flange 29 which is clamped between the parts 1 and 4 of the trap case,and with a central bearing or sleeve 30 situated beneath the diaphragm and in the chamber 8.

31 indicates apertures in the plate 2S.

y 32 is a cylinder opened at both ends, tting in the sleeve 30, having a central bearing 33 which lits loosely around the spindle 22 beneath the nut 26 and providedwith alateraly flange 34 beneath which is carried an elastic packing ring 35, preferably rubber. The latter rests upon and forms a steam tight joint with the valve 19.

36 indicates an aperture or apertures through the valve 19.

Myimproved trap being organized and constructed in the manner illustrated, or in any equivalent manner, the operation thereof is as follows: The inlet 2 being connected with any chamber or conduit containing steam, or other condensable vapor of similar nature, will permit the ingress of steam into the chamber 37 surrounding the upper portion of the air chamber. The heat thereby communicated to the confined air will cause the latter to expand and force outward the diaphragm 25, which latter is preferably corruvgated as shown so as to have the greater elasticity. It will be observed that the arched form of the dome 27 prevents any bulging outward of the upper side of the air chamber and confines the whole expansion of the air to that side of the air chamber on which the diaphragm is situated thereby rendering the latter more sensitive. The shape of the chamber 37 is also such as to direct the steam (and also the cooling fluid hereinafter referred to) around and in close proximity to the air chamber, which also contributes to the readiness and accuracy of operation of the trap. The diaphragm 25 being forced outward as above mentioned carries with it, through the spindle 22, the valve 19 causing the latter to be closed upon the valve seat 15. The nut 26 acting upon the bearing 33 at the same time forces the cylinder 32 in the same direction as and with the valve, so that the latter is caused by the pressure of the packing 35 to bel accurately seated and make a steam tight joint preventing any escape of vapor from the trap. The elastic diaphragm in its Aexpansion may throw theY spindle 22 and the valve 19fslightly out of their true axial position, but this tendency is controlled by the cylinder 32 which reciprocates accurately in the bearing 30, and the yielding' character of the packing 35 will permit such movement of the valve 19 as is necessary for the latter to find a firm and uniform seat. The valve is now closed, but it will be observed that it is not conned in any way by the steam pressure, which would interfere with its freedom of opening, for the reason thatV the space above the valve of equal area with the upper end of the tube 14 is in direct communication by openings 36 with the space below the valve. Moreover the chamber or space 38 at the outer side of `the diaphragm 25 is similarly in direct communication with the atmosphere through the open cylinder 32 and the said openings 36 of the valve, so that the sensitiveness and ready response of the elastic diaphragm to changes of temperature are not impaired by any external steam pressure.

The vtrap remains in the above describedA condition, preventing any escape of steam, until the water or liquid of condensation entering through the inlet 2 and passing around the air chamber through the space 37,*and onward through the openings 31 into the chamber 3, has accumulated in sufficient quantity and risen to such height as to out off the access of steam to the dome 27 wholly. or partially, thereby decreasing the temperature and bulk of the air in the-air chamber and causing the diaphragm to move inward. This movement separates the Valve from its seat and permits the escape of the collected liquid through the tube 14 into the open air or into any pipe or vessel arranged for its reception. y The liquid being thus exhausted from the chambers 37 and 8 the steam entering through the inlet 2 immediately strikes upon and flows around the dome 27, heating the air contained therein so as to force out the diaphragm 25 and close the valve 19 as before.

r1`he above described operation is repeated indefinitely with the result that the steam cylinder, radiator, conduit or other chamber with which the trap is connected is kept free from condensed liquid without escape or leakage of steam except an inappreciable amount which may escape j ust before the valve closes.

lVhere a volatile lluid is employed in place of air in the valve operating chamber it causes the valve to close at much too low a temperature, so that the trap would be useless in connection with steam or other vapor of high temperature, or would at least be very slow and unsatisfactory in operation. Also where the flexible diaphragm of the expansion chamber is exposed-to any pressure whatever above the normal atmospheric pressure, satisfactory results in the operation of the trap are not attained. y

TOO

IIO

By my improvements the trap will work as freely at a very high temperature and pressure as it will at a temperature and pressure of low degrees.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim i's-- 1. In a trap, the combination of a casing, an expansion chamber rigidly fixed therein and having a movable portion orv diaphragm, a valve attached to and operated by the mov able portion of the expansion chamber and situated below the chamber whereby the latter is adapted to be immersed in the liquid of condensation when the valve is closed, and means whereby the said diaphragm is cut off or separated from the liquid or steam collecting chamber of the trap, substantially as set forth.

2. In a steam trap an expansion chamberof hemispherical form, a casing surrounding said chamber and having an inletdirectly opposite to the rou-nd side of said chamber, and a valve connected with and operated by the flat side of the chamber, substantially as set forth.

3. In a trap the combination of acasing, an air expansion chamber therein, a valve operated by said chamber, a partition or plate separating or cutting off from the steam chamber of the trap a space or chamber contiguous to the movable side or face of the expansion chamber, a bearing in said partition, and a sleeve or cylinder fitting and movable in said bearing toward and from the expansion chamber and connected with the valve, therebyT separating from the trapchamber the space above said valve, substantially as set forth.

4. In a trap the combination of the casing, the plate 28 fitting therein and carrying the expansion chamber, a valve connected with said expansion chamber, and a sleeve or cylinder 32 tting in said plate and connected with thevalve, substantially as set forth.

5. In a trap the combination with the eX- pansion chamber of a casing having the chamber 38 contiguous to the movable portion of the expansion chamber, a valve operated by said expansion chamber and having an aperture 36 whereby the chamber 38 is placed in communication with the outside of the trap, substantially as set forth.

6. In a trap the combination with the eX- pansion chamber, and valve operated thereby,

.of a partition serving to cut off the inner face -of the valve from the steam chamber of the trap, substantially as set forth.

7. In a trap the combination with the"eX pansion chamber and valve, of the cylinder or sleeve 32 movable with said Valve, and an elastic packing 35 interposedbetween said cylinder and valve, substantially as set forth.

S. In a trap the combination with the vexpansion chamber, the valve 19 and the tube 14, of the casing having a screw-thread engaging said tube, provided with the valve seat 15 adapted to be engaged by said valve, and a stufiingbox below said screw thread, substantially as set forth.

9. In a trap the combination with the valve and a dome shaped expansion chamber, of a dome shaped casing above the latter and forming with around and above said chamber the space 37, and an inlet 2 delivering steam or water directly into said space and against the dome of the expansion chamber, substan tially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two'witnesses.

FREDERICK LAMPLOUGH.

Witnesses:

T. RALPH DoUsE, THos. P. BORDEN. 

